The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that about ten percent of the pregnancies in the United States is the preterm deliveries in 2017. The number of preterm deliveries is increasing over the last three years. An earlier study shows that the preterm delivery will cause a serious health outcome for the baby (preemies) and not to the mother.

A current study shows even a mother of the preterm baby will be at an enhanced risk of heart diseases. The study has found an association between preterm delivery and an enhanced risk of cardiovascular disease in the mother.

Experts think that the pregnancy can cause considerable stress on the vascular health of the women. Experts say that healthcare professionals should ask about pregnancy history and check the blood pressure patterns of women. They should regularly check the blood pressure.

Authors of the study say that the women should disclose the pregnancy complications to the doctor for the preventive measures.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Heart Association has issued a joint advisory for the women who had pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and preterm delivery. They say that healthcare professionals should take measures to control the blood pressure of the women who had pregnancy complications before they experience high blood pressure. They say that there should be a better coordination between the obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) and the heart specialist when treating the heart diseases of a woman with a pregnancy complication or delivered a preterm baby.

A woman who had complications during the pregnancy should self-monitor the blood pressure in addition to checking with the healthcare professional. Those women should take preventive measures to lower the risk of hypertension.

Researchers are planning to conduct a study to find out the association between preterm delivery and the risk of cardiovascular disease with changes in the lifestyle, nutrition, and genetic factors.

The lead author of the study was Dr. Janet M. Catov, Ph.D., MS, an associate professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and the Department of Epidemiology, the University of Pittsburgh. The study was published May 23, 2018, in the journal Hypertension. Title of the article was "Blood Pressure Patterns and Subsequent Coronary Artery Calcification in Women Who Delivered Preterm Births." DOI : doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.10693

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